Zooey Deschanel is set to portary Janis Joplin in the Penelope Spheeris-directed indie film reports Production Weekly.

Janis Lyn Joplin, born 1943, was an American blues-influenced rock singer and occasional songwriter who is now remembered best for her powerful, distinctive voice — her rasping, overtone-rich sound was significantly divergent from the soft folk and jazz-influenced styles that were common among white artists at the time – as well as for her lyrical themes of pain and loss.

To many she personified that period of the Sixties when the San Francisco sound, along with (then considered) outlandish dress and life style jolted the country. Joplin died, aged 27, of an overdose of unusually pure heroin and alcohol, after being off drugs for a period of time.

The production is aiming for a November star in Philadelphia.